


Trade All My Tomorrows

by Charlieexo



Category: The Last of Us
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-23
Updated: 2014-08-31
Packaged: 2018-02-14 09:19:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2186262
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Charlieexo/pseuds/Charlieexo
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Luce and her family have been barely surviving through the outbreak. When tragedy strikes, Luce is forced to make several hard choices, including whether to put her trust in gruff survivor Joel.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Letum

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first attempt at any writing related to TLOU - I hope you guys enjoy! Joel and the rest of TLOU gang will be making an appearance come the next chapter! Enjoy!

Rain pelted into Luce’s face as she ran into the horizontal downpour. She hiked her backpack traps higher up onto her shoulders to avoid any of her weapons from falling off. If it wasn’t for the sharp hearing she’d developed in the ten years since the outbreak she probably wouldn’t have heard the sound of metal hitting the rocks on the ground. Luce quickly whipped her head around and spotted her pocket knife laying on the ground. She swore to herself as she picked it up, opting to shove it into her jeans pocket instead of hanging on the outside of her rucksack. 

Luce took a few seconds to catch her breath before picking up her run again. She was outside the perimeter and it was after curfew which meant if she was caught she’d be shot. Not a question about it. She wasn’t thinking about that though. She was thinking about feeding her family which was holed up in the small apartment they had been assigned within the quarantine zone. Luce had managed to gather two rabbits from the woods outside the quarantine zone. The ration line was running low again and the amount of food her mother had picked up a few days ago had already run out. 

On the outskirts of the zone Luce squeezed through the broken links that marked the start and finish of the safe zone. It was dark and raining, which mean there would be a skeleton crew of military personnel patrolling the streets. It didn’t take much longer for Luce to find her way to the dilapidated apartment and she managed to do so without meeting any military. 

Inside the apartment her mother was peeling the last of the few potatoes that they had been given at the ration line. Her younger sister Emily was reading a book that Luce had picked up for her a few weeks ago and her father was sat at the table sharpening his pocket knife. Luce took her backpack off and put it on the table, taking the rabbits out and handing them to her mother. 

“How far out did you go to get these?” She asked, putting down the knife she was using to peel the potatoes to inspect the rabbits. 

“Just out to the forest,” Luce said quietly, she knew her parents didn’t like it when she went outside of the zone, “I’m okay, aren’t I?” She asked, in reply to her mother’s stern gaze. 

“This time,” She sighed, “But what about next time? Your luck will run out one day.” 

Luce sighed and decided she wasn’t getting into the inevitable argument. At least they had some meat to eat. Luce kicked off her boots and joined her sister on the couch. Emily had only been four when the outbreak had happened and Luce had ever since felt like her protection was her sole responsibility. Luce wanted to preserve her younger sister’s innocence for as long as she could. It was something hard to come by in this world and every time Luce saw her, it was like a breath of fresh air. 

“And how is Lizzy Bennett today?” Luce asked, plucking the worn copy of Pride and Prejudice from her sister’s fingers, “Does she still hate Mr Darcy with a passion?” 

“She’s warming,” Emily smiled in reply, grabbing the book back, “What was the outside like today?” She asked, folding the corner of her current page. 

“Wet,” Luce smiled, “It was fine.” 

“Can I come with you tomorrow?” She asked, a question that Luce always dreaded. 

“Maybe.” She smiled, running her hands through Emily’s hair. 

*** 

Later that night Luce was led in bed listening to the rain drum against the window when she heard Emily sit up from the mattress that were all they had to call a bed. Luce mimicked her sister’s movements. 

“Is everything okay Em?” She asked, running a hand through her ginger hair. 

“I just can’t sleep.” Was the reply. 

“Have you got something on your mind?” Luce asked, Emily didn’t reply. “Emily?” 

“How are you not scared?” Emily asked after a few moments, “You go outside of the zone nearly every day and you kill people and you act like it doesn’t faze you. You must come across infected all the time. I’d be terrified and yet it doesn’t bother you?” 

Luce sighed, for a few months now Emily had been talking about how frightened she was sometimes. The idea of the infected scared her, probably because the only experience of them she had was being attacked by one a few years ago. Luce was beginning to realise that her complete indifference to everything that wasn’t her family was starting to affect her younger sister. 

“Who says I’m not?” Luce asked, “It’s scary out there, it really is, but when it comes down to it, when an infected is running towards you, the only thing that is going to stop you from pulling the trigger is fear,” Luce ran a hand over her face, “Being scared out there will get you killed.” 

“When will you teach me?” The question Luce had been dreading, “What happens if you get killed out there? Bitten by an infected. You know mom and dad won’t go out of the zone to find food, we’ll starve like so many other people are here.” 

Luce sighed, “Emily, you’re 14, you don’t need to worry about providing for them.” Luce went to stand up but as the words left her mouth Emily led back down and turned her back to her. 

“I won’t be 14 forever.” Was all the Luce heard and decided it would be best not to pry. 

***

Luce was gone before Emily and her parents had woken. After her small argument with Emily the night before, she had found it near impossible to go back to sleep. She had tossed and turned until the rain had stopped and the sky turned from almost black to light grey before she tossed on the clothes from the day previous and headed out.  
The plan was to hunt down some more rabbit, or any edible animal she could find, and then head back into the zone to see if she could trade some meat for a small gun for Emily. Her parents wouldn’t like it and Luce wasn’t crazy about it either but her sister had been right. She wouldn’t be 14 forever, and whilst Luce wasn’t going to teach her to use a gun just yet, it would be a step in the right direction to keep Emily happy. 

Luce managed to gather two rabbits and a squirrel with minimal fuss. She hadn’t encountered a clicker in weeks and the last time she had come across an infected had been about two weeks ago. Either the military were getting better at cleaning them out or less people were sneaking out in the first place. Either way it pleased Luce to not have to worry about them herself. 

Strapping the dead animals to her bag Luce decided she was going to take the longer way back, through what was an old shopping district. Most of the stuff worth having was long gone, but sometimes Luce managed to find nuts and bolts that her father could use and she could also find a few more books for Emily. It meant an increased chance of encountering infected, but she had plenty of arrows and bullets should she need them. 

It took nearly an hour to scout through the empty shells of buildings. She entered the bookstore with a haul of a few nuts and bolts and two pairs of scissors that she would give to her father to fashion into a weapon. Luce quickly picked a few books out, Jane Eyre and Catcher in the Rye, hoping that Emily would forgive her for the previous night. Luce would make sure the gun was kept a secret between the two of them if she managed to get one. 

From the bookstore it took no longer than an hour to get back into the quarantine zone. Instead of heading through the open streets, Luce clambered through the back alleys that led to the black market zone. There wasn’t much left there. Once the military had gotten word of an illegal trade market they had shut it down, killing those in charge, framing them as Fireflies so people didn’t rise up. As far as Luce knew the Fireflies had nothing to do with it, but it was easier to turn a blind eye than question the motives of the military.  
It wasn’t a place Luce liked frequenting. She only went there when it was absolutely necessary. The men tended to look at her like they were plotting something sinister and the women looked at her as if she should be back home playing with dolls – not playing at adults. Luce was twenty-one but her face was young, people tended to think she was far younger than what she was. 

She produced the three dead animals to the gun trader and offered it all to him. He gladly obliged and handed across a small pistol which Luce buried in the bottom of her rucksack. She near ran from the alleys once the business was done. 

***  
The apartment was quiet when Luce returned. It was odd for no-one to be home and after a quick scout through the few rooms they did have, Luce noticed a note on the table. It had been written on the back of the final page of one of Emily’s old books. 

_Luce, we’ve gone to the bunker to collect the rest of the supplies. We’ll back soon. Love, mom x_

Hmmm. Strange. The bunker was a small freight container that was just outside of the zone. Luce and her family had been using it since the outbreak to store weapons and extra cans of food they found just in case of emergencies. Since the ration lines started running low Luce had been going out every other week to collect things to help them get by. The supplies had just about run out so Luce figured that they had all gone together to collect what was left. 

‘No harm in going to give them a hand.’ Luce thought. She hooked her backpack back around her shoulders and headed out, hoping to be able to catch them before they left the bunker. 

***  
It took Luce no time at all to get to the edge of the zone but once she arrived she noticed a few soldiers that were milling about. From the balcony she was crouched on she could see the cluster of freight containers she was heading for. It would be possible to sneak past the soldiers, but then she would only have to manoeuvre around them on the way back, with three other people in tow. She drew her bow and arrows and aimed at the first soldier, opting to be quiet. If she was lucky she could put an arrow in all three soldiers without them noticing. 

The first one was no trouble. An arrow through the back of his head worked a treat. That’s when it all went downhill. She let the second arrow go just a second too late and it caught the second soldier in the shoulder, causing him to call out in pain, alerting the last remaining soldier that someone was attempting to get out of the zone. Luce quickly drew another arrow and this time landed it into the maimed soldiers head. Once more she drew quickly and managed to down the last soldier before he could call for help on his radio. 

Luce took a deep breath before jumping down and collecting her arrows. She then fit through the chain link fence and ran the rest of the way to the freight container. She ripped open the entrance and closed it straight back behind her, before bending over to catch her breath. 

After a few second she lifted her head and let her eyes adjust to the dim light of the few oil lamps that were being used to light the space. That’s when she realised something was wrong. Drastically wrong. 

Her mother, father and sister looked like deer’s caught in headlights. Each one had a backpack on and Emily looked like she had been crying. Something wasn’t right. 

“Is everything okay?” Luce asked, walking a little more into the container when something hit her shoe, she looked down. Four infected were led on the floor, bleeding from stab wounds and gun shots, “Why are there infected in here?” She asked. 

As soon as the words left her mouth everything clicked together. The looks in the eyes of her parents, the tears running down Emily’s face and the dead infected at her feet. Luce felt as breathless as she looked frantically at her parents to deny her worst nightmares. They said nothing. 

“No,” Luce whispered, “No, you can’t be infected.” 

Luce’s heart broke even further when she heard a sob escape Emily’s lips. 

“You weren’t meant to find out like this,” Her mother whispered, Luce could tell she was close to tears as well, “We were going to leave you a note and run.” 

“You were going to leave without saying goodbye?!” Luce exclaimed. If it wasn’t enough that her entire family were now infected, they were going to leave without telling her as well.

“It would have been easier,” Her father spoke, “We were going to run into the woods for as long as we could and when we couldn’t go any further we were going to stop and let it happen.” 

“Easier for you, maybe,” Luce spat, stepping over the dead bodies and walking to her sister’s side, “Show me.” She demanded. 

Emily lifted up her shirt sleeve to reveal her bite. A chunk of skin and flesh was gone and the sides of the bite were already bruising and starting to bubble. She looked to her parents who in turn showed their bites, all with the same bruising. They didn’t have long, a day at most. 

“You shouldn’t have come without me,” Luce said, wiping away the tears that had started falling, “Now you’re all going to leave me, what will I have? Who will help me?” 

Luce watched her father’s expression soften, “You are more capable than you realise Luce,” Her father spoke, “You’ve kept us fed and alive, I’m sure you can do the same for yourself.” 

“I don’t want to do this alone.” She whimpered, “Surely we can amputate,” She exclaimed, “I could cut off Emily’s arm and we can take your leg off Dad.” 

“What about your mother?” Luce’s father asked, pointing to the bite on Luce’s mother’s side. 

Luce groaned in frustration and ran her hands through her hair. 

“The way I see it,” Her mother spoke, “There are two options here, you can let us go and turn or you can take this and end it.” 

Luce’s eyes grew wide as she realised what it was she was being asked to do. She scoffed at the suggestion. There was no way she was going to put a gun to the heads of the only people she had left and pull the trigger. 

“No,” She said, “You want me to kill you? To put a gun to your head and just be done with it?” 

A small hand wrapped around Luce’s and squeezed. Luce turned to Emily who still had tears running down her cheeks. The thought of having to watch Emily’s eyes as she pulled the trigger was enough to make Luce feel sick. 

“Luce, listen to me,” Emily spoke, “This is our time, if there’s one thing you’ve taught me, it’s to not be afraid and I’m not, I’m not afraid of dying,” Luce squeezed her sister’s hand as she spoke, “But I am afraid of turning into one of those things, I don’t want to be able to kill people, because there is a chance that you might come across us again, and I won’t know who you are, all I will know is that I needed to bite you,” Luce put a hand to her chest to hold in a sob, “I don’t ever want to hurt you, none of us do, so put us out of our misery, please.” 

Those weren’t the words of a fourteen year old girl. All of a sudden Luce realised that whilst she had been trying to preserve her sister’s innocence, Emily had been changing. The books she had been reading and the things she had been hearing had made her grow up, whether Luce liked to admit it or not. 

Luce looked to her mother who still held the pistol in her hand. It was calling Luce’s name, telling her to oblige her family. Emily had been right. There was a high possibility that if she left them here she would find them again. And then she’d have no choice but to kill them. She wasn’t going to let her family turn into the monsters that everyone hated so much. She walked over to her mother and took the gun from her hands, turning it over from side to side. 

“There are four bullets in there,” Her mother spoke, “One for each of us, and then one for you should you want it.” 

Luce wiped away the tears from her eyes and took the safety off the gun. She needed to get this over and done with. She embraced her mother tightly, who in turn placed a kiss on her temple. A whispered ‘I love you’ and it was time. Luce sobbed as she placed the gun to her mother’s temple. She closed her eyes and turned away before quickly pulling the trigger. She was aptly aware of a scream that came from Emily but Luce’s ears were ringing and her eyes were clouded with tears. She let go of her mother’s body and turned away, bending over double to regulate her breathing and stop herself from being sick. 

She didn’t take much time. The longer she drew this out the more painful it would be for everyone involved. She wiped her eyes and walked to her father. She embraced him much like her mother, but instead of an ‘I love you’, her father whispered something else. 

“When this is done,” He whispered into her ginger hair, “Go to Marlene.” 

Marlene. Luce thought, readying the gun. Leader of the Fireflies. What good could she possibly do? She didn’t linger on that thought for long. She would focus on that once the job at hand was done. The action was very much like she had done with her mother, over in a few seconds. She watched her father’s body fall to the floor before she ran to Emily and engulfed her in a hug. She cradled her head as she cried and attempted to stem her own flow of tears. 

“Emily listen to me,” She said, pushing her to an arm’s length, “We can amputate, you don’t have to do this.” 

She watched as Emily shook her head, “Luce, do you remember Colin?” She asked, “He was bit and they thought they could amputate, had he not died from blood loss he would have still turned.” 

Emily was right. There was no other option. Now that she had put an end to both her parents there was nothing else she could do. At least a bullet would be quicker than loss of blood. Luce squeezed Emily hard and kissed her forehead before assuming the same position she had done with her parents. This time though, Luce made sure that as soon as she pulled the trigger Emily would be gone. She took her time and only decided she was ready when Emily began crying once more. 

“I’m sorry babygirl,” Luce whispered, “I’m sorry I couldn’t save you.” 

And with that, the trigger was pulled and the last person she had ever cared for was dead. All done by her own hands. She turned away from the pile of dead bodies and dropped the gun. Luce didn’t know, but she had blood splatters all over her face and chest and she was shaking like a leaf. Sobs escaped from her mouth as she picked up her rucksack.  
Marlene. That was the next thought in her mind. Go to Marlene. What had her father been involved with Marlene for? Luce had never known her father talk about the Fireflies, which now she thought about it was probably a huge clue. People these days either loathed or loved the Fireflies. Her father had been apathetic. 

Luce wiped the tears from her eyes and resolved to move on. The gunshots would attract either infected or the military and Luce was in no fit state to deal with either. She knew where Marlene would be and right now she would be her only hope. To the Fireflies it was.


	2. Promoveo, Promovi, Promotum.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the next chapter guys! :) Hope you all enjoy!

Luce spent at least three hours getting back to the apartment. Her eyes were blurry from the tears that refused to stop and every now and then a sob would escape her mouth which would have attracted infected or military. 

Once she arrived back she spent very little time gathering what she needed. Luce took all of the weapons she could fine, two guns and another pocket knife with a handful of ammo. Luce then slowly made her way into the room she had shared with her sister. A few tears fell from her eyes as she collected a few of the books she had given her sister, A Handmaids Tale and Northanger Abbey, to be exact. She put them in her bag with the other two books she had picked up from the bookstore. She also stuffed as many of her clothes as the bag would hold. 

On the windowsill Luce spotted the picture frames that Emily had insisted on displaying. One was a picture of a considerably younger Luce holding Emily when she was just a baby. The other was one of her entire family on holiday in Mexico a year before the outbreak. They looked so happy together. Now they were gone. Luce picked up one of the photos and in a fit of rage she threw it at the wall, watching as the glass shattered. She threw the other frame at the wall too, just for good measure. 

***  
Luce slowly made her way through the back streets and out of the zone in search of Marlene. Her father had told her to find the leader of the Fireflies, for reasons beyond Luce’s understanding. She had no idea that her father had been involved with the Fireflies. She was sure that it would all become clear soon enough. Luce only knew where the Fireflies were hiding because she had stumbled upon it a few months ago whilst she was hunting a group of small rabbits. She knew she was getting close when she noticed Marlene’s wanted posters torn off the walls. 

She was greeted by two men who refused to let her in. She couldn’t blame them for being wary, she was covered in blood from her face to her shoes apart from the trails where her tears had run down her face. 

“Listen to me,” Luce spoke slowly, “I am asking as a friend of a firefly, to let me in,” She drew the small pocket knife from its place between her jeans and underwear, “I didn’t want to have to do this, but I will stab you both if you don’t take me to Marlene.” 

She watched the two men look at each other and nod in agreement. One of them grabbed her arm and the other snatched the small knife from her hands. Luce didn’t have the emotional effort to fight back, but this worked just as well. They were taking her to Marlene which is what she wanted. 

The two men brought her to a metal door and rapped on it three times. A pair of eyes looked through the small pane of glass before opening the door. The two men pushed Luce in first. Eyes widened at the blood-covered young lady. 

“Marlene,” One of the men growled, “This punk-ass shit pulled a knife on us and asked us to bring her to you.” 

A woman looked up from papers on a table. So this was the infamous Marlene. She wasn’t as intimidating as everyone made her out to be. She was just a few inches taller than Luce and she had soft eyes. 

“A knife you say?” She asked, “What do you want?” She directed to Luce. 

“My father said to find you,” Luce spoke, “Frank Nicholson.” 

Luce watched as dread washed over Marlene’s face, even if it was only momentarily. She covered herself well. A dangerous woman was one would could disguise her feelings and Luce knew it well. 

“Where is he?” Marlene asked Luce, looking at the other people in the room. 

“Dead,” Luce stated, trying to be as closed off with her emotions as humanly possible, “He’s dead.” 

“What do you mean dead?” She asked, stepping closer to Luce, searching her face. 

“He was infected,” Luce spoke, “And now he’s dead.” 

“Shit,” Marlene cursed, turning away from Luce, “Of course, that’s just our luck.” 

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Luce spoke, yanking her arms from the men who were holding her, “But I have no idea why he told me to come here, I didn’t even know he was caught up in your crusade, so if someone could explain to me why he told me to come here I’d be really thankful.” 

“Your father did important work for us,” Marlene spoke, “He organised shipments in for us, without him we have no source of income to attempt to find a cure for this thing.”  
Luce couldn’t really believe what she was hearing. Her father was a Firefly? It would explain his apathetic stance on the group where usually people hated or loved them. But still, why hadn’t he told her? Had her mother known? 

“We’ll find something Marlene,” A voice said from behind her, “Don’t worry yet.” 

“Where’s the rest of your family?” Marlene asked Luce, “Frank had a wife and two daughters.” 

“They’re all dead,” Luce sighed, “With all due respect, I’m stood here covered in blood and I’m emotionally exhausted, so if it’s all the same to you, if you could find me somewhere to stay, I’d be really thankful.” 

Marlene looked to the man who had spoken to her just moments before, “There’s an empty place next to you right?” She asked, the man nodded, “Take her there, make sure she knows the rules and then come back here, I have a plan.” 

The nameless man took hold of Luce’s wrist and dragged her from the room silently. Luce simply complied. She just wanted to wash and sleep.  
***  
The ‘apartment’ if it could even be called that was small. Three rooms. A kitchen that doubled as a living room, a bedroom with a small single bed and a bathroom. It was better than nothing and was definitely better than her apartment back in the QZ. 

“This’ll do you just fine,” the gruff man spoke as she closed the door behind her, “You any good with weapons?” 

Luce dropped her backpack on the couch in the middle of the room, “I can fire a gun pretty good, I can threaten with a knife and I’ve kept my family alive by hunting with a bow and arrow.” 

“That’ll do you good here,” He spoke, “Name’s Tommy by the way.” 

“Luce,” She stated, folding her arms in front of her chest, “What were the rules Marlene wanted me to know?”

“I’m sure it’s pretty obvious,” Tommy spoke, slipping his hands into his pockets, “Don’t go anywhere without Marlene’s permission, don’t tell anyone you’re a Firefly and don’t put yourself or anyone else in danger,” Hell of a set of rules, Luce thought, “You lie to protect us if you have too,” Tommy’s tone changed as he moved a little closer to Luce, “This is your family now, okay? You protect us like you would have protected them.” 

A lone tear ran down Luce’s cheek as she thought back just a few hours and how she had literally watched the light fade from her younger sister’s eyes, “I didn’t protect them very well at all.” She sighed, rubbing the tears from her eyes furiously. 

“Whatever it is that happened,” Tommy spoke, “It’s done now and there’s nothing to be done but move on, it’ll take time, and I’m speaking from experience, but trust me, this is the best place for you be.” 

“I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d really like to get showered, if it’s all the same.” 

“Of course,” Tommy opened her front door, “Make sure you lock this behind me, I’ll be right next door if you need me.” 

Then she was alone once more. The silence in the small apartment was discomforting to Luce. She was used to her mother and father bickering or at the very least Emily would be humming as she read through her books. Luce took hold of her backpack and took it into the bedroom. She unpacked the clothes she had managed to carry here and laid them in the old chest of drawers in the room. She led her weapons on top of the drawers, guns, knives along with her bow and arrow. Luce didn’t exactly feel safe here. The Fireflies could be violent if they wanted to be, she knew that from the stories and the news from the first few months of the outbreak. There was no doubt that if someone wanted her dead, it could be done. Although right now that really would have been a blessing in disguise even if Luce didn’t want to admit it. 

Luce needed to shower. She couldn’t spend another moment covered in the blood of her family. The shower was small but it would do. People didn’t spend hours getting clean anymore. Water didn’t get warm enough anymore and people had stopped making shampoo and soap a long time ago. Luce stripped off her clothes and threw them into the bottom of the shower so they could wash at the same time she was. As the water hit her skin, Luce watched as the blood ran from her skin. She used her hand to rub at the more stubborn bit of blood, but soon the last of it was gone. She picked up her wet clothes and squeezed the water out of them. They would be stained with blood until Luce would pillage some soap from somewhere, but at least they were clean. Luce hung them over the chairs before drying herself off. She slipped a vest top and a pair of panties on and then went to investigate the kitchen. 

The cupboards and fridge were empty. The Fireflies obviously had more trouble getting by than the regular citizens did. She would have to stop by her old apartment to pick up necessities – plates and things like that – and she would have to speak to Marlene about getting some food. Tonight she would go hungry though. Not that Luce thought she could stomach anything at all. Her legs still felt weak and she felt a headache coming on through her temples. Luce sat down on the couch and drew her knees up to her chest, wrapping her arms around her legs. Rain was pouring outside and Luce could make out the faint rumble of thunder in the distance. 

Luce couldn’t cry anymore, remembering that Emily was deathly afraid of thunder and lightning made her sad, but Luce was absolutely exhausted. She would have liked to have made it to bed, but she really didn’t have the energy to drag herself from the couch, just for a little more comfort. The couch would do just fine tonight.  
***  
The sun blazed in the sky as Luce took hold of her sister’s hand and led her into the alleyway next to their small home. She had a large plastic ball tucked under her arm but a gun tucked into the back of her trousers. It had been 4 years since the outbreak had rendered the world completely dysfunctional. Luce was fifteen and her little sister just eight. Luce had decided that she wanted Emily to have some sort of semblance of a childhood that she had been lucky enough to have experienced. Luce had managed to scavenge the ball under her arm from the family who used to live in the apartment below her and her family. They had left the QZ to attempt to find other family members who were scattered across America. Luce had only been young but it had sounded like a death wish. The family had two small children who would often be found outside the door throwing the ball to each other. She had asked if she could take the ball from them when they left. The mother had told her it was probably best not to have to carry it with them. _They were probably dead by now,_ Luce thought as she let go of Emily’s hand. 

She smiled at her younger sister who was eager to play. Luce pushed Emily’s gently into place on one brick wall, whilst she put her back against the opposite wall. Luce lightly bounced the ball over to Emily, who caught it and did the same back to her. They continued like that for a little while, just passing the ball back and forth until Emily spoke. 

“Luce, can I ask you something?” 

“Of course, pumpkin.” 

“You know the infected?” Emily mused, Luce’s stomach instantly dropping, “The people they once were, are they still there?” 

Luce would have asked where she had gotten such a question from but she already knew. Emily had been going to school in the QZ. It wasn’t exactly like school had been before the outbreak, mostly it was a place for children to go to learn the basics and for the older children to learn to become soldiers. Luce didn’t go however. The thought of joining the military scared her. Emily had obviously heard the older children talking about the infected and she was getting to the age where she understood that the world she was growing up in had some serious problems. 

“I honestly don’t know, pumpkin.” Luce sighed, throwing the ball to her sister, “I don’t think anyone really knows yet.” 

“I heard the older people talking at school about it.” She looked to Luce, she was eloquent for her age, someone Luce was proud of. 

“What did they say?” Luce asked, bouncing the ball back over to Emily. 

“They said that the person is still there and that the infected go crazy and hurt people because they’re trying to get out.” Luce winced at her sister’s words. 

“Scientists don’t really know yet Emily,” Luce sighed, lying a little. The scientists knew that the cordyceps took over the brain, completely destroying who the person once was, but Luce wanted Emily to grow up with some kind of hope in her life, “Maybe the older children are right, maybe the person someone once was is still there,” Luce caught the ball from her sister, “But then again, maybe not, I think I’d prefer to think not, it must be painful for people if they do stay.” 

“I don’t know what I think.” Emily sighed, looking down at her shoes. Luce picked the ball up and knelt down to be at the same level as Emily. 

“That’s perfectly fine, you know that, don’t you?” Luce asked, taking hold of Emily’s hands, “It’s perfectly okay not to know what you think about this world,” She placed a kiss to Emily’s forehead, “Lord knows it’s confusing, and I don’t think anyone will really ever understand it.”  
***  
Luce woke suddenly when she heard a loud banging on the front door. She rubbed her eyes, willing the noise to go away. _Just a few more minutes,_ Luce thought. No such luck, the banging continued until Luce couldn’t bear it anymore. She slid the chain from the lock and opened the door to poke her head around, acutely aware that she was only wearing a thing vest top and some panties. It was Tommy. 

“Sorry Darlin’,” He spoke, “Didn’t mean to ruin your beauty sleep.” 

“It’s fine,” Luce yawned, “Do you have the time?” 

“No-one has the time anymore,” He chuckled, “Nearly mid-day by the looks of the sun.” 

_Holy shit._ Luce really must have been exhausted to have slept that long. “What do you want?” She asked, running a hand through her hair. 

“A job,” Tommy stated, “If you’re gonna stay here you have to prove yourself to Marlene, so I’m going to take you out on a job today.” 

_No rest for the wicked._ “Alright, let me get dressed, wait here.” 

Luce would have refused normally. She really disliked working with someone else. More than one person meant someone to look out for, which meant it was more than likely someone would get hurt, caught or infected. It was one of the reasons she hadn’t wanted Emily to go with her. But this wasn’t a walk in the park anymore. Luce needed to survive and if she wanted to do that, she would have to prove herself to these people. To Marlene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> SO! Here's Tommy! And Marlene! Joel and Tess will make an appearance very shortly, I promise! Hope you guys enjoyed!


End file.
